Why job fairs are swelling, although so few leads to hires

The state of the labour market’s supply

In cities across Canada, job fairs have become magnets for the unemployed, drawing hundreds or even thousands of applicants hoping to make connections with potential employers. Yet the swelling crowds at these events belie a deeper tension: even as large numbers of job vacancies remain, many applicants struggle to get past the first cut. The shadow of oversupply, shrinking retail employment, and the rise of AI is transforming the labor market in ways that make job-searching more frustrating and uncertain than ever.

Oversupply Meets Gatekeeping

Labour market conditions are revealing a mismatch not just of skills but of access. Many sectors report more applicants than they can actively sort. In one recent Stats Canada report, job vacancy counts in Canada fell by 3.8 percent in the first quarter of 2025 compared to the prior quarter, and were down 18.1 percent year over year. Meanwhile, unemployment has edged up: Canada lost 65,500 jobs in August 2025, pushing the national unemployment rate to 7.1 percent.

These numbers suggest that while employers may advertise openings, the application volume is overwhelming. Many résumés never reach human eyes, filtered out automatically by algorithms, screened on rigid keywords, or dismissed by overwhelmed recruiters. Even when applicants attend job fairs in person, they may still lose out to candidates already in the employer’s internal pipeline or to those who better “stand out” in a brief exchange.

Retail’s Retreat Narrows Options

The contraction of the retail sector intensifies the bottleneck. Once a foundational source of entry-level and flexible employment, retail operations now face existential pressures. In 2025, Hudson’s Bay announced the closure of all its stores, laying off more than 8,300 workers, nearly 90 percent of its workforce, as part of its liquidation process. That is not an isolated case. Department stores, malls, and big-box chains are consolidating or reducing footprint in response to rising costs, reduced foot traffic, and fierce competition from e-commerce.